


Untouchable

by enbytieflings



Category: Critical Role (Web Series)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Duke!Caleb, Implied/Referenced Child Abuse, Mollymauk Tealeaf is Xhorhasian Royalty, Other, Royal!Molly, Trent Ikithon Being an Asshole, caleb knows hes safe and uses that to his advantage, hes not even my fav. fjord is my fav what is this, i dont have a specific title i just said noble and royalty, other characters and the widomauk are referenced/mentioned, why are all my cr fics surrounding caleb
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-09
Updated: 2019-05-09
Packaged: 2020-02-28 18:58:30
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,693
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18762448
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/enbytieflings/pseuds/enbytieflings
Summary: He's safe. He knows that he's safe. And that, in itself, is power.





	Untouchable

**Author's Note:**

> @widomauk server thank you for amazing ideas  
> i was supposed to be outlining a long pining fic  
> and then i did this  
> thank you  
> this is from an au we were discussing where Molly is lost xhorhasian royalty, and because of that, caleb marrying him would earn him a kickass title. then we started thinking about how trent would react to finding out caleb is royalty now. then i did this, so yay!  
> (also transferring this from my docs to here kinda,,,,,messed up? lemme know if there's any errors and ill fix em!!)

The clunking of heavy boot footfall on tile flooring stopped, leaving the long castle hall to lapse into silence. The Duke stared ahead, barely shaking as he met the face of the man he once planned to never see again. Trent's eyes narrowed and his eyebrows furrowed in anger and frustration. The stunt pulled in the royal court had left a bitter taste in the archmage's mouth, but Caleb had seemed indifferent despite the circumstances. And it made Trent even angrier, seeing just how little he affected his old apprentice who ran away in fear without a word. Caleb's head barely tilted as his eyebrows raised in response.

 

A growl rose in Trent's throat. "I don't believe it," He muttered, shaking his head. Another beat of silence passed, more tense than the previous. "All these years I wondered where I would end up finding you and in what state. And it ended up being _Xhorhas_ , of all places. And you ended up being the _Duke_ of the _Dynasty_."

 

A tiny smirk twitched at the corner of Caleb's lips. He adjusted his stance, standing up straight like he did when ordered to, and crossing his arms covered by decade old scars and thatched with hair that grew on the remaining skin. Not a word left his mouth, however. He remained just as silent as in the court when the Queen spoke, but that had been out of respect. Out of admiration. This didn't give off the same affect, instead being a condescending gesture that meant something much different.

 

Trent wanted to yell. He wanted to grab him by that fancy collar and drag him down and wipe that disrespect out of his smile. But physical violence wouldn't be an option. Even verbal violence would get him thrown out of the castle if somebody heard, and in turn get him kicked out of the academy. Instead he just stepped forward, closer to his old student, only ten feet away. Part of him expected to see a knee-jerk reaction, a flinch or a recoil, but he stood his ground. Trent remembered teaching that lesson, teaching the three how to stay put rather than be afraid. He couldn't tell whether to be insulted or impressed that Caleb had actually managed it, unlike he did the first hundred times.

 

"You knew you couldn't hide forever," Trent said, looking Caleb up and down. He glanced back up, trying to meet his eyes, knowing full well how much he hated it. Caleb still avoided the eye contact, but the way he looked up at the ceiling far above almost looked rude, a bored look in his eyes. "Are you done now? Is that what this is?" He cocked his head to the side, maintaining the stare into the whites of his student's eyes.

 

Caleb huffed a breath of a laugh and closed his eyes as he brought one hand up to his chest, splaying his fingers over his heart. Trent's eyes caught the wink of gold around his ring finger. "It’s not my fault the lost royalty of the Dynasty won my hand in marriage," He cooed and barely, but noticeably, leaned in toward the man before him. He cracked an eyelid open, the blue iris staring right between his eyes. "Though that is not to say I am complaining." He pulled back, tucking his hand back into the crook of his elbow.

 

"Of course not," Trent muttered, rolling his eyes. "Seem to be having fun here, huh? Having fun betraying the land you hail from?" He observed, shifting his jaw to keep him from clenching his teeth.

 

"I had my fun with the Empire," Caleb shrugged. "If I stop having my fun here, expect to speak with me again when I'm the Plank King." He sounded so confident in the statement, Trent had to think for a moment about if he had been serious or not. Of course, he'd found it hard to tell with this one no matter the circumstances.

 

"What has gotten into you, huh?" He narrowed his eyes, as if that would help him see through whatever facade Caleb upheld. "Back with me, you were only this...sassy with Astrid and Eodwulf." The flinch he got in response to the name drop made him give a thin grin. "Never would've considered being this way with me." Caleb let his eyes flutter closed.

 

The truth in his words were all too real, and both of them knew it well. If it were a different time and Caleb were a different person again, he would die at the mere thought of talking back to Trent. If he actually did it, or even tried? Maybe he wouldn't have died, but he would've gotten close, and not by his own hand.

 

"Safety gives you room to play," The Duke clicked his tongue, looking off to the side. "Not something I learned from you, unfortunately. I was lucky to have friends who were willing to be teachers."

 

“You can learn a lot from friends, Bren,” Trent said. Caleb inhaled sharply, almost a hiss through his teeth as he briefly shut his eyelids before staring at the wall once more. “But you can learn more from your enemies.” The old lesson, a mantra he repeated to the three teens before sending them off to gather information, in less than moral ways. He took notice of the way Caleb started to shiver and how his fingers started tapping against his scars, almost going to dig in. His grin grew wide, showing off his crooked and yellow teeth. “You’d know that better than anyone, wouldn’t you?”

 

A long minute of quiet fell over both parties, the only sound through the great hall being Caleb’s heavy breaths paired with Trent’s own breathing. Memories were flooding both of their minds, memories of things past done and things past said; things better left forgotten. The archmage let out a small laugh, glad to finally see the Duke’s calm and confident demeanor flicker like a dying flame for the first time since he’d arrived last night. Ever since the meeting in the royal court no less than eight hours ago, where Caleb simply observed the discussion and debate while silently running his fingers through the curled violet hair of the Noble laying across his lap. Ever since he flickered his eyes over to Trent a gave a knowing grin before adding to the conversation about trading information and making peace. Ever since he claimed he had no idea who Bren was.

 

It didn’t take long for the floods to pass, and once they had, Caleb just shook his head and moved forward, eyes trained on the ground in front of him as the heavy bottoms of his high leather boots clacked against tile. His eyes flicked back up when he reached just out of arms-length.

 

“Is...that not what you are doing now?” He breathed. “The assembly… You do not want peace, I-I know that much.” Trent gave no response, his grin already dwindled to an amused smile. He just raised an eyebrow and waited for more. Caleb shook his head. “You just want information.”

 

“You’ve worked with us, my boy,” Trent chuckled, catching the next smaller wave of memories in Caleb’s eye at the nickname. “You know exactly what we want, and you know how we get it.” He said, a condescending tone in his voice as he got closer, invading what he knew was Caleb’s personal space. The Duke furrowed his eyebrows and stared at his feet again, making the same face he’d always make when his mind slipped into deep thought.

 

The sudden laugh caught Trent off-guard, making him blink and almost step back. Caleb shook his head, a mischievous smile crossing his face. “I feel as though you have forgotten something,” He said, raising his eyebrows. Before Trent could respond, he continued. “

yes, I am the Duke, but that is not my only title.” His smile dropped, countenance going serious. “I am a warmage, specialized in transmutation and dunamancy. If I so wish, I can withhold the information you requested because that is my department.”

 

Trent took a moment to process what had just been said, and the moment it clicked, his attitude towards this conversation shifted. “You wouldn’t.” He called, feeling the same seething anger from before bubble up in his veins again. “This deal is to make peace with your dynasty. You don’t want the war to get worse, do you, boy?”

 

“Ah, so it’s  _my_ dynasty now? I was not made aware of that.” He scoffed. “There are other ways to end a war, my good sir.” The title, that at any other time might’ve seemed formal and polite, now held an energy of faux kindness meant to be rude. “I know how I want to fight this. Do you?” His head tilted to the side, the look in his eyes almost innocent.

 

Trent hissed. “You son of a--”

 

“Ah ah, Ikithon!” Caleb taunted, tutting and waving his hand before placing it over his chest again. “You show His Grace, the Duke of the Krynn Dynasty your full and proper respect. Wouldn’t want somebody to call the  _guards_ \--” his voice raised a notch too loud for Trent’s liking “--to escort you and your fellow assembly members out, would you?” His expression showed no jest or mockery in his words, nor did his tone of voice.

 

"Give me a good reason to not kill you right here and now," Trent growled, his snarl growing more intense as his eyes flickered with anger once more. The desire to strangle this kid returned tenfold, and he had to clench his fists to keep himself from reaching out and grabbing him..

 

Caleb hummed to himself and shook his head, moving to walk past his old teacher, who ground his teeth hard. He stopped when he stood beside the man he once planned to never see again, and slowly turned his head to meet his eyes for the first time in years. A grin spread across his face as he finally spoke. "Diplomatic immunity, Trent." The Duke whispered, then continuing on his path down the hallway.


End file.
